I Turn to You
by bluemooneyez
Summary: A sister moves back home with one of the Regulars. Kaidoh Kari. She stirs up trouble, fun and romance for the regulars. She helps her brother find love and happiness, and just maybe she'll find love and happiness as well. Many pairings and a female OC.
1. It's A Long Way Home

**I Turn To You: Chapter One**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis…. I still cry at night about this.

**Author's Notes: **This is my first Prince of Tennis fanfic, so please be gentle. This fanfic is dedicated to all of the wonderful regulars in Prince of Tennis, especially Kaidoh. I love him, and I thought he just needed some attention.

This fanfic is a mix of all kinds of genres. There is some angst, a lot especially in this first chapter. There is romance, drama and comedy. But first and foremost it's a love story for all of our regulars.

A little warning, there are going to be some light-fluffy, shonen-ai characters in this fanfic. There are tons of pairings, too many to just list here. If you want to know, you'd just have to read on.

I'd really hate to make a Mary-Sue out of my little Kari-chan. If you have any constructive criticism, please, help me make this story better for you. The song in the beginning of the chapter is "I Turn To You" by Christina Aguilera.

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_When I'm lost, in the rain_

_In your eyes I know I'll find the light_

_To light my way_

A young girl, she could only be 13 or 14 years old had been sitting down and staring out the window. Everyday she sat on the window sill and watched outside to see a tennis team practicing. As captain she watched over them through the window most days. To be a good captain, she tried every so often to practice along side with them even just for a short match or so. It has been awhile since she actually played along side with them with all her heart into it. It has been three months and seventeen days to be exact. Nearly four months ago the young girl injured her knee during championship season. She worked herself too hard, stressed and overstrained her body. She was lucky she could still walk in the condition she was in. It was her mental toughness, or stubbornness that kept her going those four months ago. As time passed day by day, her mental toughness deteriorated, and all was left was a little girl who lost her way home. She felt vulnerable everyday even more and more as the sun rose and then when it set. It was unnerving; she hated feeling like people could see right through her as if she was nothing. She hated the feeling that she could see right through herself.

She had a healthy physique; that's what four to five hours on a good day of tennis stretches, practices and exercises would do to a body. Lately, her body was not responding well to the lack of movement like she used to do on the court. She had a pretty tough exterior; one could see the strain she did to her body with cuts, scrapes and bruises. She had a fairly dark complexion; unlike her mother's beautiful pearly white skin. I guess it was from training so hard in the hot sun. It was a like a tan that never went away. Compared to her brother's and father's face, her face was much softer like her mother's. Her eyes were dark brown, a muddled color which was hard to read. Some say, you can read into a person's soul through their eyes, but when you look at Kari's eyes, you would have a hard time seeing anything. Even though you couldn't read her soul, you could still admire her wide eyes that reflected her innocence. Her hair was long and dark brown. A brown that looked like it could be black if you didn't look at it so closely. She always kept her hair down; she'd only put it up if she was serious. If she intended to play a serious match, she'd put her hair up. Her smile, not too flashy, but not too wide was beautiful and she loved to smile for people. It spread warmth to whoever was in the vicinity. She was a happy person, she loved being happy. She hated negative things—and tried to make things better. But lately, she was being her complete opposite. She thought sad thoughts; unhappy thoughts that made her cringe. She didn't smile very often, if she did, it felt fake and forced. Her eyes looked dim if you took the time to look.

Everyday just seemed restless, sitting around, looking out the window. One can only look out at the same scenery for so long. Thoughts loomed in her head, thoughts about her family, her brother in particular and thoughts about her life. She often thought to herself what she was doing so far away from home. It has been three years she left and until now had she ever thought about going back home. She often thought what she left behind and if it was thinking about her. Her heart dropped whenever she had these thoughts. She hated being unhappy, she hated thinking about unhappy thoughts. Unfortunately, they plagued her. They wouldn't let her forget that she had to go back home eventually, home where she wasn't sure was ready to take her back.

It feels so unnerving to think this way. She was happy here in America, wasn't she? She had friends, a place she could always call home. Most importantly, she had tennis. But as time went by, she felt that tennis is not what it used to be. Trophies, recognition and such were nice things. But that's the thing, they were things, things that no longer made her feel like she was floating on Cloud 9. It wasn't the same anymore when she was a kid; it didn't feel that special to her. It didn't feel the way it was supposed to be. In practice and matches, her mind wandered, her heart wavered. She felt like a traitor to the sport that made her into the person she was today.

She couldn't help but think about what life was like two years ago back in Tokyo. Tokyo seemed so far away, and it was. She hated the fact that she was worlds away from Tokyo and that she was worlds away from her former self. She felt fake, no she didn't feel fake, she knew she was fake and it was gnawing at her insides.

Ever since her injury she made excuses not to play. She couldn't push herself anymore to do anything. She couldn't make herself be happy. She wouldn't let herself realize that she's been healed for a while now. She couldn't bring herself to love tennis the way she used to, she way it should be. For now, she'll lie to herself until it was all better. She couldn't remember when she last played all out during a match, she couldn't remember when she used to love tennis with a passion that she'd wake up someone at 3 in the morning just to play with her or sit on the court and look up at the stars convinced that the tennis gods are looking down on her. She couldn't remember because it was so long ago. Ever since her injury, ever since her withdrawal from tennis she found that living without it as bearable, more preferable. She no longer felt the thrill of a victory, she no longer felt the stress on her shoulders during a match, she no longer felt the electricity surge through her whenever she picked up a racket with anticipation from the opponent. She hated the fact that she no longer loved tennis like she used to. She remembered times playing with her brother until both of them got red in the face. Until both of them wouldn't give up and have their mother yell out their full names to get their attention to get them to come to dinner. She loved that. She loved playing with her brother. He was the one that taught her how to play tennis. He was the one who taught her how to love tennis. It hurt her so much that she totally forgot what her brother taught her. It was as if almost everyday she thought about her brother, and what he was doing right at this instant. It hurt her to be away from him, it hurt her even more that it took two years to feel regret for leaving him.

She stared at her knee, she stared at it with such intensity that her eyes began to sting. Her eyes, then her heart began to sting with the knowledge that she was lying to herself, to everyone that she cared about and to the world of tennis. She knew she wouldn't play tennis anymore, not now. She wouldn't bring back the girl she knew until she went home to Tokyo, not until she found herself and convinced her to come back. She would go back home and discover the small things, the sad things, the happy things and the difficult things. She smiled, "That's life" she told herself inwardly. That's life, and I'm going to rediscover it. She suddenly felt the world wasn't going to crash, like the world was going to be okay, like she was going to be okay.

She wondered to herself how she'd get back to Tokyo. She wondered what excuse she could use. She just couldn't leave her studies behind, her tennis team behind. Even though she didn't love tennis the way before, she loved her team. It was as if she raised them herself. She saw them succeed, fail, blossom and love. She hated the thought that she's been lying to herself, she hated even more that she lied to them. They looked up to them, and she looked up to them. She loved their spirit, their dedication and their hearts. She was sincerely and seriously messed up. She had so many emotions swirling inside her. She didn't love to play tennis anymore, but she was dedicated to her tennis team and her teammates. She hated herself, she loved others. She missed her brother, but didn't want to leave anyone of her teammates behind like she did with her brother. What was wrong with her? She was a walking contradiction. It made herself loathe herself even more and that hurts. Self-loathing is never fun.

With hesitation in her heart, she knew that Tokyo had been waiting for her for two years and it was time to go back and right the wrongs and find herself. It was going to be difficult, to divulge into a past that liked to be hidden and didn't want to be found. More importantly, no one ever looked for it. It was all about to change, she was about to change. That is why she hesitated. She wondered if she ever went home, what it would be like. It couldn't just be like how it was before she left. She knew she left for too long. Her family wouldn't feel like her family anymore. She knew that they moved on, even though they wouldn't admit it. They had moved on without her. They made themselves comfortable with each other, they made themselves a new family. A new family without her. It was one of her greatest fears. One thing that she hated to admit to herself or to anyone. It's a devastating feeling to know that you have no family anymore, that you're an outsider watching in. She trembled at the thought of what would happen. She didn't belong there, so why force herself back in? She forced herself out herself; what would they think of her trying to force her way back in? Would they want her back? Did she want to be back and feel even more alone? She sighed to herself and breathed out the last quivering doubts out of her mind.

No more wondering, it's about time to do the "doing". It's about time to find out the truth and put away the doubts. It's about time to stop running away from everyone, from her family, from her friends, and most importantly, herself. She turned closed the window and turned and started to move away from her thinking ground. _"No more thinking- just do"_

"Hello? Mama?"

"Hm… Kari? Is that you darling? Oh, it's been awhile since you've called. Are you okay? Is everything okay?"

"Mama, everything is fine. Well… um… at least, yes mama, everything is well."

"Honey? Are you sure? I'm just concerned, you don't call often. I'm glad you did though, I was just thinking about you sweetheart."

"Mama, how is everyone?"

Her mama smiled brightly. "Papa is doing well, your little brother is doing fine as well. As for your aniki, he's been working hard and training hard for tennis. He wants to do you proud, you know that, right?"

With a wince in the young girl's voice, "Ahh, of course mama. Aniki always works hard no matter what. I'm proud of him all the time, no matter what he does."

"I know he feels the same way sweetheart. --- Is that why you called? Just to ask how we're doing?"

"Well, mama, I wanted to ask you another thing…" The young girl started to twiddle with the phone cord.

"Ask away honey, anything you want."

The young girl smirked at herself. Anything I want? Is it that simple? I don't remember it being that simple….

"Honey?"

"Yes mama?"

"What is it… the question you were going to ask?"

"Oh…um… mama?

"Yes sweetie?

"Would it be okay if I came home?"

"Oh… are you on vacation? I didn't know that Bartley had vacation time now."

"Um.. no mama, you see… I want to come home."

Startled, surprised and happy were just some adjectives one could use for her mother's expression…"Come home? You want to come home and leave school?"

"Yes mama, I want to come home, live at home and attend school with aniki… is that okay?"

"Sweetie… of course, of course, it's okay! But why the sudden change? Are you not happy in Bartley?"

"I'm happy mama, but I think I'll be happier in Tokyo, I'm ready to come home and be with you and everyone."

"Honey, I'm so happy to hear that, you have no idea how happy. I'll have my little girl back home with me."

"Mama, I'm happy to be coming home too."

"Well, I'll settle everything here to prepare for your coming home. I'll send you your ticket and everything."

"Thanks mama, I, I love you."

"I love you too honey." Her little girl was coming home, her whole family will be complete now.

Kaidoh Kari was going back to Japan for good.

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It just seemed like a good day for Kaidoh Kaoru. It seemed like everything was in place, it felt like the gods were smiling down on him. He found his mother singing showtunes while making breakfast. Ever since a couple of nights ago, she seemed so happy and also really busy. Whenever he saw she was either on the phone, doing the laundry, tidying up the house or something else. It was not like she never does this, but it just seemed that she was doing even more work, as if they were going to have visitors. Kaoru wanted to help his mother, but whenever he offered his help all his mother would say: "Oh Kaoru, don't worry about me. I have everything under control. Why don't you go on now, you'll be late for practice." Kaoru didn't want his mother to be overworked, he was a bit worried. Then again, his mother liked to be busy, plus, she was happy. If she was happy he was happy.

His morning was one of the best mornings he had ever had. He had just run 10 miles this morning up and down the river. It felt refreshing to do this very morning. He couldn't wait to tell his sempai about his intense training. When he came home, that is when he saw his mother in the kitchen, making herself busy yet again. She had actually made everyone their favorite breakfast food for breakfast. She rarely did this; it had been so long since he could remember when she made everyone their own favorite individual dish.

Kaidoh Kaoru made his way to practice. It seemed to be such a bright day. Brighter than any other day that he could imagine. He strolled down his street towards Seishun Gakuen, his middle school. He wore his green bandana that his mother just finished ironing. He had his tennis gear thrown over his shoulder as he walked. He could hear that stupid Momo and Echizen right behind him. He was in such a good mood, that he could even tolerate that stupid Momo this morning.

"Hey Mamushi! Wait! You're not even going to walk with us to school?", Momo yelled with his large lungs.

"Fsshhhh, I don't need to walk with you, we're only a minute away now." Kaidoh kept his head straight, he didn't even bother to turn his head slightly to acknowledge his Momo's existence.

"Ehhhh, Mamushi, what's up? Are you too good for Echizen & I?"

"It's Echizen & _me_, Momo-sempai.", Echizen said to his tall friend.

"Fsshhhh, just shut up stupid. I don't want to be seen near you."

"Ehhh, ahahaha, too late Viper, I'm right next to you."

Kaidoh turned his head slightly and just when he did he was up close to that stupid Momo's face. Momo was smiling, his stupid big smile. Kaidoh was getting annoyed having his face so close.

"You idiot, get away from me. You don't need to walk so close to me, baka."

"Fine Viper, have it your way. --- I'll race you to the tennis courts." Momo started to run ahead of Kaidoh. Kaidoh, being a person who can't stand to back away from any challenge against Momo started to run after Momo. They both left the twelve year old behind.

"Ahhh, I see that the morning has just begun the same just like everyday." Fuji said quietly who had just appeared next to the young prodigy.

"Hn, Fuiji-sempai?"

"Good morning Echizen, shouldn't we get going? Tezuka wouldn't be happy if we were late for morning practice?"

Fuji started walking ahead while Echizen stayed back for a second. When did he get here? Was he right behind us? Echizen's feet just started to move, one foot after the other. He wasn't going to waste his time thinking about trivial things.

Practice was exhausting. Everyone felt a stress on their muscles. Tezuka-boucho was being pretty harsh this morning. Or maybe he was always like this? They ran at least 60 laps for being late this morning, and now, on top of that, they had to sit through classes for six hours. It was going to be a long day!

Since intra-school tournaments were going to begin soon, Tezuka wanted to make sure everyone was in their best condition and that meant being strenuous and tough on the regulars and those who wanted to become regulars. He made afternoon practice even tougher than what it was in the morning.

"Ahhhh, boucho! I can't run anymore", Eiji Kikumaru complained. He didn't mind running, but after this morning and what seemed like 100 more laps this afternoon, he was going to collapse.

Tezuka looked at the team. They look ragged. After laps and practice matches, it looked like they rather drink Inui's juice than to continue practice. Wait, they rather give him Inui's juice and see him suffer. He better stop before there's a mutiny before the intra-school matches.

"Good. All of you have worked hard. Go home and rest, no morning practice tomorrow.", Tezuka said loud and clear. He gave the motion for everyone to change out of their workout clothes and to start to head home.

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The plane ride was always annoying. Kari-chan hated to fly on planes. She much preferred traveling by car or even train. As long as she wasn't thousands of feet in the air.

"Well, it can't be helped I guess", she said to herself. You couldn't really drive a car to Japan from California. Kari looked outside to see the scenery. Japan is just as beautiful as it was when I left. She could see the mountains and the clear sky. It looked breathtaking. She noticed that they were descending and she could see the tops of the big skyscrapers in Tokyo. She was almost home, almost there.

She felt so nervous in the airport. Just standing there, waiting. She kept looking around her to see anyone she recognized. Just a familiar face, that's all she needed.

"Kari-chan?" It sounded almost like a whisper, just a whisper that got her attention. She turned around to see the two people that saw her off just two years ago. Now, they were welcoming her back home.

"Papa? Mama?" Kari ran to them, she ran to them and hugged them. She hadn't seen them for so long. Two years was too long. Bartley was an all-year round school, even if she had vacations, she usually stayed back in Bartley to either practice with the team or go travel to competitions. She couldn't believe she never came home to visit them. She would make it up to them, to her whole family. She was home now.

"Ah, Kari-chan! It's been too long, I missed you so much little one."

"Papa, I'm not little anymore."

"I know, but to me, you're my little Kari."

"I'm glad to be home Papa, I'm really glad."

She gave a small smile to her papa. He smiled back.

"Kari, I'm glad you're home too."

"Mama! I'm glad too! I've missed you, I've missed both of you! Where's Hazue-kun, and Kaoru-chan?"

Her mother smiled and even laughed, "They're at school sweetie. Afterwards, Kazue has kendo practice and Kaoru has tennis."

"They don't know I'm here? Do they even know that I'm coming?"

Her mother replied, "We thought we'd surprise them, isn't that fun?"

Kari's smile grew wider, "That is fun Mama, I think I'll go surprise Kaoru-chan when his tennis practice is done and walk home with him. Do you think he'll like that?"

Kari's father gave her a small smile, "I think he'd love that."

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Practice seemed like it lasted forever. Everyone's muscles were sore. Everyone seemed out of breathe.

"Waaah, Tezuka-boucho made us work so hard today. I don't even think I could walk home now. My legs are so sore. Ne, Oishi, do you want to give me a piggy-back ride and take me home?" Eiji Kikumaru asked his doules partner.

"Ehhh, Eiji!", responded Oishi Shuichiro as his eyes widened. "I'll walk home with you if you want, but I don't think you'd need a piggy-back ride."

"Ne, that sounds fun, do you want to give me a piggy back ride Tezuka?" Fuji loved to toy with his boucho's emotions and see if he could embarrass him. But everyday, Tezuka Kunimitsu never waivered, all he did was give Fuji Syusuke a stern look.

"It's time to go home everybody, get all your things so I can lock up the tennis club room." Tezuka said sternly.

Everyone practically chanted, "Hai boucho! Good practice!"

Everyone started to file out of the room. Taka-san was the first to leave. He had to help with the restaurant for dinner soon. He said his goodbyes and ran towards home. Eiji, Oishi, Momo, and Echizen left afterwards. Fuii, Tezuka, Inui and Kaidoh were the ones to leave the tennis club room last. When they left, they saw the rest of their team still on school property. It looked like they were all looking at the same thing, well, not same thing, more like, same person.

There stood a young girl with her dark long hair down blowing across her face in the wind. She pushes her hair back only to see her dark brown chocolate eyes. Her skin just seemed to glow in the warm sun as it went down. She seemed to be waiting for someone.

Eiji said, "Wow, she's so cute, I don't remember her though, is she a new student?"

"Ehh, I don't know. I've never seen her before, but she is cute! Should I go talk to her?" Momo replied.

Oishi, ready to pull Eiji and Momo away from the young girl said, "Now, now guys, we should leave her alone. I don't know where she's from…. Hm, maybe she's lost? Maybe she needs help? Maybe we should approach her. But, if she needs help, wouldn't she come to us. Oh, this is very complicated."

"What's going on here?" Tezuka demanded.

"It looks like a pretty young girl waiting for someone at the gate Tezuka" Fuji said coyly.

"Who could she be? Maybe she's from a rival school, this might be data worthy." Inui, never without his pen and notebook started to jot down notes.

"This is dumb, I'm going home." Echizen, just pushed forward and started to walk home.

Kaidoh stood there dumbfounded. He's seen her before. He knew her. He doesn't know how to handle this situation. Surely, people would be asking questions about her, but all he wanted to do was go home. What was she doing here anyways? Is he even right about who he thinks is at the gate? Is she waiting for him? No, no, his eyes must be deceiving him; she's thousands of miles away. He's just tired; he just needed to go home.

He moved forward, away from his teammates, "I'm going home, see you tomorrow."

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She saw him start to walk towards the gates. It's been so long, she was worried that she wouldn't recognize him; she was worried he wouldn't recognize him.

She smiled and yelled, "Kaoru-chan! Over here! I never thought your tennis practice would end!"

He turned to see her face, and dropped his tennis bags. His eyes weren't deceiving him. It was her, it was his sister, in the flesh. She started to run over to him and he caught her and lifted her into a great big hug.

It's been two years since he saw Kari. Her hair was longer, she was taller, she was different. She really grew up. It started to bother him that his sempai and other teammates were gawking at her. Still, he couldn't believe that Kari was actually here, in the flesh, right in front of him.

"Kaoru-chan! Really, it's been too long! I've been waiting for over an hour for your practice to end."

"An hour? I've been waiting two years Kari-chan for you to finally come home. When did you get here? Do mama and papa know you're here?"

She giggled. "Seriously aniki, do you really think I'd be here if mama and papa didn't know? Of course they know silly! Come on, let's go home. I have so much to tell you, plus, mama is making a great dinner, I'm starving!"

She pulled away from his hug, picked up his tennis bags, took his hand and started to walk pulling him along. Kaidoh couldn't be anymore relieved. He didn't want to know what his sempai were thinking when Kari recognized him. This was going to be a big hassle tomorrow morning. For now, he would just walk away with her and worry about his other teammates later.

Meanwhile, the Seigaku regulars stood there dumbfounded and quite honestly, shocked to what they have just saw. They just saw Kaidoh Kaoru walk away with the girl at the gate. Inui, especially, was taking down notes furiously.

TBC.

**Author's Notes: **This is my first long serious Prince of Tennis fanfic. It took me a while to actually write up this chapter. It is a bit long, but I hope that's okay with you. I've had an idea for this fanfic for a while, and I'm pretty happy that I finally have the first chapter done. There's more to come, more pairings, more surprises.

I absolutely love Kaidoh, and I just thought he needed some love and sisterly advice. wink

**Thanks to mesmart: **Thanks to mesmart's suggestions I fixed some things. I changed Kari's physical appearance because it was a bit MarySue-ish. I also changed Kaidoh's brother's name from Kazue to Hazue. Sorry for the mistake.

Flames, reviews, anything are always appreciated.

bluemooneyez


	2. We Meet Again

**I Turn To You: Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis 

**Author's Notes: **Here's the second chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews, it really encourages me to continue this fanfic. This chapter is just interaction between Kari, Kaidoh, and the regulars. Kari is trying to make herself comfortable back in Japan. I changed my female OC's name from Mina to Kari, I changed it because it seemed to be a better name.

Once again, the song in the beginning of the fanfic is "I Turn To You" by Christina Aguilera.

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_When I'm scared, losing ground_

_When my world is going crazy_

_You can turn it all around, yes_

The regulars just watched Kaidoh walk away with the mysterious girl at the gate. They watched him walk away hand in hand with the mysterious girl at the gate. They watched him walk away holding her hand. They were all shocked, confused and quite honestly stupefied. Fuji had his contemplative smile on masking his smirk. Tezuka stood stoically ignoring the fact that his entire team was just spying on Kaidoh. Momo's jaw was still dropped and if you were close enough, you could see drool slowly making its way out of his mouth. Eiji was strangely quiet, very quiet. Oishi was poking Eiji to see if he's still conscious. Inui's eye glasses were gleaming as the sun went down. He never looked up from his notebook. He was still jotting down notes like crazy.

Inui thought to himself, "This is the biggest development I have ever seen in terms of Kaidoh's personal life. It is quite important to write all of this data down and further research this mysterious girl. In the mean time, I should write down everyone's reactions as well… good data, good data."

Momo seemed to have regain his ability to talk, with a nervous laugh, "Uh… ehehehe, what just happened here? Did I really see what I saw? Sempaiii?"

"It seems that our Kaidoh has a mysterious girl in his life, how very interesting." Fuji responded to Momo, with his smile getting a bit wider.

"Ne, ne, why didn't Kaidoh tell us he had such a cute girl?" said Eiji.

"I'm sure he has reasons Eiji, but he did look surprised… I guess she wasn't in trouble, which is a good thing." Oishi tried to calm Eiji down.

"I say we follow them." Inui said out of the blue.

"Inui." Tezuka said clearly as a threat.

"I think that would be fun. We should follow Kaidoh just to see if there's noting wrong. Don't you think so Tezuka?" Fuji responded unfazed by Tezuka's threat.

"Hoi! Hoi! It's unanimous, well, almost! Let's go follow Kaidoh!" said Eiji quite energetically.

"Let's not get too close, we don't want them to know that we're following them on their date," directed Inui.

"Date? How do we know it's a date?" spilled Momo.

"Of course it's a date! What else would it be?" questioned Eiji.

"I still don't know about following Kaidoh. It seems wrong. What if we get caught? What happens if Kaidoh can't trust anymore? What if we scare away his girlfriend?" said Oishi clearly worried.

"We'll just follow for a little bit" said Fuji. He started to walk ahead and looked back to see the rest of the regulars following, even Tezuka. He figured Tezuka was following along so that no one would cause so much trouble for Kaidoh and his companion.

They began to follow, all together, trying not to be noticed. Kaidoh wasn't that dumb. He could hear people shuffling behind him. Six people to be exact. He could hear six people trying to hide the fact that they were following him.

"Sempai-taichi" he muttered to himself as he continued to walk with Kari.

Kari turned around only to see Kaidoh looking cross-eyed. "Ehh? Is something wrong Kaoru-chan?"

"No, just keep walking, and hurry."

"Um, okay. If you say so." Kari started to skip towards home.

"Good data, this is very good personal data on Kaidoh" said Inui secretly as he begun to write furiously again.

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"Ne, Kari? Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"It wouldn't have been a surprise then, Kaoru-chan."

"Kaoru-chan?"

"Of course I'm still going to call you Kaoru-chan! You liked it when I called you that when we were younger."

"Well, we were five then Kari."

"So? It doesn't matter."

"You don't call Hazue, Hazue-chan."

"Because he's not Kaoru."

"Your reasoning is still lost on me Kari. How long are you staying?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, when are you going back to Bartley."

"Hm… never."

"Never?"

"Well, not never. But for now, I'm staying Kaoru-chan. I'm gonna enroll in your school and stay at home."

"What about tennis?"

"Tennis? Hm, well, tennis can wait."

"You still play, don't you?"

"Yes and no."

"Kari?"

Kari didn't answer right away. She wanted to avoid the topic "Kari and tennis" as much as possible. She couldn't be anymore relieved when they finally arrived home.

"Yay! We're home!" Kari dropped Kaidoh's hand and ran for the door. "We're home!"

"Kari? What about tennis?" Kaidoh thought to himself. It's weird that she didn't even answer him. She went to America to play tennis, and now she comes back and doesn't even want to talk about it? sigh She's still weird and complicated as ever. I'll just ignore it for now and be happy that she's home.

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They went into the house. They went into the house together. What does this mean? That's what all the regulars who were following were thinking. They couldn't think of a good reason why Kaidoh and a girl would go into his house together. They must be saying hi to Kaidoh's family before going out. They must be putting his tennis stuff away. All of the regulars couldn't fathom the thought that Kaidoh would bring a girl home.

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Dinner felt like a grand affair. Laughing, crying and hugging. There were now five people around the round dinner table. They all looked picture perfect. A mother's dream. Kaidoh-san felt like she had her whole family back. Her little daughter has come back home and made the family whole and complete again. Two years was too long. She didn't know how long Kari would actually stay. Kari never liked to be in one place too long. But for now, they can be a complete family. They all had two years to catch up on. It wasn't going to be easy, but as a family, they can do it together.

Kari had grown up so much. She hate the fact that she was gone so long. She wanted to see her grow up and become the wonderful person she was now. Kaidoh-san wanted to see her daughter love, laugh, live and win in life. Not only win in tennis, but win in life. She wanted her to be happy. She felt relieved that Kari felt happy here back in Japan, here back in Tokyo where she really belongs.

"Kari?

"Yes mama?

"You have your placement exam tomorrow afternoon at Seigaku."

"Tomorrow? Already?"

"Yes, I didn't want you to get behind on your studies you know. I hope Bartley sent your transcript and everything."

"I'm sure they did. Don't worry mama. Ne, Kaoru-chan? I'm going to take an entrance exam for Seigaku. Isn't that fun?"

"No." Kaidoh said dejectedly.

"Ahahaha, aren't you excited? We could be in the same class!"

"I'm sure that'll be interesting."

"Kaoru-chaaan! Do you have tennis practice tomorrow afternoon again? I can wait for you after my exam is done."

Kaidoh lowered his spoon and was staring out into space. He was thinking about the team and what they would think if they saw Kari with him again. He didn't even want to know what they were thinking after practice today. The thought of Kari waiting by the tennis courts was a bit unnerving. He didn't really want to answer all of the rest of the regular's questions. Kari was always one to cause trouble and attract attention. The thought of any of the regulars being more than friendly with Kari was a bit annoying. He knew Momo and his large obnoxious head. No, he didn't want Kari anywhere near him at all.

"Kaoru-chan? Are you listening to me? I'll be waiting for you at the tennis courts tomorrow, okay?"

"Ahhh, Kari," said Kaidoh who sounded a bit nervous.

"Great! Tomorrow then I'll wait for you," said Kari cheerfully who totally ignored Kaidoh's nervousness.

-------------------

"Bye Kaoru-chan! I'll see you after practice. Wish me luck on my entrance exam!"

"Uh. Yeah. Good luck Kari. See you later."

Kaidoh decided to leave unceremoniously early for school. He figured he'd head to school early and try to hide from all the annoying questions sure to come from his teammates. He'd deal with meeting up with Kari after practice later. He just wanted to get through the day without completely going insane. Kaidoh stepped beyond the gate looking particularly relieved to see no one he recognized from the team.

Out of the blue, Kaidoh heard a familiar voice. "Good morning Kaidoh."

"Sempai? What are you doing here, I mean doing here so early?"

"100 that Kaidoh would come to school early in order to try to avoid questions about yesterday and his female friend."

"Sempai."

"Also, 100 that Kaidoh would not expect that any of his sempai would be here so early as well. Isn't that right Kaidoh?"

All of sudden, Kaidoh saw a red head come running their way yelling and waving his arms wildly, "OHAYOOO!"

"Ahh, Kikumaru. Good to see you got my message to come to school early," said Inui expectedly.

"Of course, of course. So, where is she?"

"Later Kikumaru. We still should get the story from Kaidoh here."

"Ah! I'm glad I'm not late for the meeting," Fuji-sempai just came out of the blue.

Kaidoh looked around him and saw that Taka-sempai, Oishi-sempai and Tezuka-sempai were right behind him. He felt cornered. He shouldn't have underestimated his sempai. He knew they were going to catch him sometime. He just thought he'd be prepared for this, instead of this ambush.

"Oy! Mamushi!" yelled Momo being followed by Echizen.

"Oh good, everyone's finally here. Now Kaidoh…" started Inui.

"Fshhh. Inui-sempai. School will start soon, I'm going." After that Kaidoh made his way, quite quickly which Inui recorded down toward the school's doors.

"Hm… well, that didn't go exactly as you planned, ne Inui" said Fuji.

"No, but there's always practice."

"You don't give up do you?"

"Not when there's good data to observe and record."

-------------

Kaidoh wished that school would never end. He saw Kari pass in the halls and she waved and mouthed, "Hi Kaoru-chan!" Luckily, Momo didn't see her pass by in the hallway since she was quickly ushered away by one of the school's secretaries to take her entrance exam in a separate room.

Unfortunately, the day went unceremoniously fast and it was already time to warm up for tennis practice. Where all the regulars were going to be and where Kaidoh couldn't run from them and their questions.

"Are you even sure that Kaidoh will show up today? I mean, we followed him last night and cornered him this morning. What if he feels pressured to talk about the mysterious girl. I don't want him to feel uncomfortable around us. Will this be okay?" Oishi asked sounding very concerned.

"100 that Kaidoh will show up today. You know that he would never miss a practice unless he's dead. He will show up. We just need another subtle way to get information out of him."

"We could follow him!" interjected Eiji.

"Eiji! I don't think following him would be a nice thing to do, even though we already followed him home" said Oishi.

"It only gave more questions than answers. The direct approach is better, 52 better than trailing him home again" said Inui.

"What do you think Tezuka?" asked Fuji.

"Run 10 laps now, everyone" said Tezuka showing no emotion.

Kaidoh came to practice to already see everyone except himself, Taka-sempai and Echizen running. He was perplexed and quite confused.

Quite surprisingly practice was quiet. No one mentioned Kari or anything. Kaidoh was getting a bit worried, worried that they would corner him again when he was trying to change back into his school uniform or something.

He thought he was almost saved, practice was coming to end. Tezuka looked ready to end practice for the day, and then Kari showed up at the tennis courts. Of course, being Kari, was attracting a lot of attention.

"Do you see that girl? She's pretty cute!" said one junior. Kaidoh felt like serving a tennis ball at his head.

"She is cute! Do you think she'd go on a date with me?" said another tennis club member.

"No." thought Kaidoh. Run Kari, just leave Kari. Wait somewhere else until practice is over.

Not only the juniors and freshman were paying attention to Kari but the regulars finally caught her eye. She was now smiling and waving to them.

"Kari? What are you doing?" thought Kaidoh.

Instead of changing, Kaidoh would just walk away with Kari. He'd come back later with his clothes. Just as he was planning his extremely complicated getaway, he heard her yell, "Kaoru-chan!" He looked over at her and she started to wave frantically to try to get his attention. Oh yes, she got his attention. She got the whole tennis club's attention on him.

All of sudden the whole tennis club's attention went from Kari directly to Kaidoh.

"Kaoru-chan? Did you hear that? Kaidoh knows her. Seems like they're pretty informal with each other" whispered one member.

"Kaoru-chan? Wow! That's so cute!" Kaidoh heard Eiji yell over to Oishi. "Ne Oishi, can I call you Oishiii-chan? Wouldn't that be cute?"

"Eiji! I don't think you need to call me Oishiii-chan."

"But Oishii! It's so cute. Kaidoh doesn't mind being called Kaoru-chan. Ne, how about it Oishii-chan?"

"Eiji" said Oishi clearly defeated.

Out of the corner of Kaidoh's eyes he can see Inui and Fuji walk towards Kari. Kari could see them coming towards them. She smiled sweetly and gave them a small wave. It seems they were on the same tennis team as Kaidoh. They could be some of his friends. She was quite happy to finally meet some of Kaidoh's friends.

"Hi! I'm Kari." Kari said sweetly. They looked completely nice. One of them was extremely beautiful. He could have passed as a guy if he wanted to. He had amazing piercing blue eyes, pale skin and light auburn hair. He was very beautiful. The other one was amazingly tall. He very imposing eye glasses that covered most of his face. You couldn't see his eyes, which was a shame. He had dark spiky hair and was carrying around a green notebook and pen.

"Hello. I'm Fuji Syusuke and this is Inui Saddaharu."

"Oh hello! I'm Kaidoh Kari. Nice to meet you." Kari him a little bow.

The very tall guy started to jot down in his notebook. "Kaidoh Kari?" he said never looking up.

"Ah, hai! My names Kaidoh Kari. But please, feel free to call me Kari."

"Does that mean you're related to Kaidoh?" Inui asked again.

"You mean Kaoru-chan? Of course I'm related to him. I'm his sister."

"Sister?" they both asked in unison.

"Hai, his twin sister."

"Twin?" asked Inui.

"Hai! We're not identical twins but we are fraternal twins."

Inui looked up and stopped writing in his notebook. He looked up and finally saw Kaidoh Kari up close. They weren't identical in the least. But she looked like the same age as Kaidoh. They did look similar, but she had softer face and bigger eyes. She was truly pretty and gave off a sweet aura unlike his teammate who often gave off a scary aura.

Meanwhile, Ryoma and Eiji were finally done with their little match.

"Ah! Ochibi-you're too good! I'll beat you sometime and you'll never expect it, ahaha."

"Mada mada dane."

"Ohohoho ochibi! Let's go see what Fuji and Inui are up to! I want to meet the cute girl too!"

"No."

"Oh come on ochibi! It'll be fun!"

They started to walk over to Inui, Fuji and Kari. Eiji was practically running towards them leaving Ryoma behind.

"Hoi hoi! I'm Kikumaru Eiji! Nice to meet you!"

"Ah! I'm Kaidoh Kari! Nice to meet you too!" Kari gave Eiji a little bow and nice smile.

"Kaidoh? Kaidoh Kari? You mean you're not Kaidoh's girlfriend?" questioned Eiji.

"Ehhh? Girlfriend? Ahaha, not in a million years! I'm Kaoru-chan's sister."

"Twin sister to be exact" said Inui.

Ryoma finally caught up with the group. Kari was conversing with Inui and Fuji and Kikumaru where talking amongst themselves. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was Kari! His old team captain at the Bartley summer camp before the Junior US Nationals.

"Boucho?" Ryoma said outloud even though he didn't mean to. Unfortuantely, Eiji-sempai and Fuji-sempai heard him.

"Boucho? I don't see Tezuka here anywhere Ochibi. This is Kaidoh Kari, Kaidoh's twin sister! Can you believe that?"

"No, Kikumaru-sempai, I was calling Kari boucho."

"Hm…., why Echizen?" asked Fuji. "Do you know her?"

"KON-I-CHI-WA Ryoma-kun! I didn't know that you were in the same school as Kaoru-chan" Kari said out of the blue. Apparently Kari and Inui saw Ryoma approach and of course she couldn't ignore her little prodigy.

"Ehhh? You know Ochibi? And Ochibi, you know Kari?" Eiji yelled.

"Of course I know Ryoma-kun! You see, when he was in America, he went to my old school, Bartley for their summer training camps. The Bartley summer tennis session was mostly a gathering for those who qualified for the Junior Nationals. It's pretty intense. It's like an invitational for the Nationals. I was one of the girl captain for the teams. In Bartley, there are two captains, one boy and one girl for both teams. We both are captains for the two teams at Bartley. I mostly work with the girl's team, but I also work with the boy's team, and Ryoma-kun was on the boy's team for three summers in a row."

"Wow" said Eiji, apparently speechless.

"Interesting" said Fuji, who was quite intrigued by the story and of course Inui was scribbling furiously in his notebook.

"Kari-boucho, you didn't have to tell the our whole history together" said Ryoma.

"You're so silly Ryoma! It doesn't hurt for them to know more about you like you absolutely love shrimp rice crackers and the jasmine---"

"Boucho!" interrupted Ryoma.

"Okay, okay, maybe they don't need to know that" giggled Kari.

"Hmph"

"Ne, Ryoma-kun?"

"Hm… boucho?"

"Five laps."

"Hmm?"

"Five laps, you know the drill."

"Usual bets then?"

"Mhmm, I'll buy you a grape Ponta if you beat me, you buy me a Raspberry Ice Tea if I win and of course I'll win."

"Mada mada---""

Before he could finish saying "dane" Kari lept ahead and started to run around the court. She looked back and yelled, "You'll never win if you're just standing there Ryoma-kun!"

"Hm?" Ryoma started to run as well, and he was catching up to Kari.

While they were running, Tezuka, Momo, Oishi, Taka-san, and Kaidoh approached Fuji, Eiji and Inui. Apparently practice was finally over but Tezuka was a bit annoyed that hald his teammates didn't finish out the practice.

"What's going on here?" asked Tezuka.

"We're just watching our little Echizen race with his former boucho, Kaidoh Kari, Kaidoh's sister," replied Fuji.

"SISTER?" yelled Momo.

"Twin sister," Inui said correcting Momo.

"Why didn't you tell us Kaidoh?" asked Oishi.

"Fssshhhh" was Kaidoh's only reply.

"We thought she was your girlfriend," said Fuji.

"WHAT?" was Kaidoh's only reply.

"OY OY! SHE IS BURNING! BURNING!" yelled Taka-san, apparently Momo slipped him a tennis raquet to hold.

"You're lucky I'm not making all of you run 10 laps as well," said Tezuka threateningly.

In the distance, they could hear Kari yell, "Ryoma-kun! Don't let me win now, it's not a time to be a gentleman, but a real man!"

"Mada mada dane" Ryoma started to run faster, he wasn't trying to let Kari win, but he did hear rumors that she injured her knee.

"AHAHAHA! I win Ryoma-kun!" Kari started skipping towards the last corner of the tennis court.

"You never race me seriously, you know that boucho?"

"You know you never race me seriously either O-CHI-BI. Ahaaha, I actually like the sound of that." Kari took Ryoma's cap and put on her head and making the victory sign with her hand. Ryoma was just looking up at Kari and gave her a small smile.

All the regulars were watching the two. All of them were surprised to see the interactions between Ryoma and Kari. Ryoma avoided the opposite sex at all the times. If they had someone like Tomo-chan following that around with that loud voice of hers, they'd avoid women as well. Ryoma rarely smiled, and he rarely made himself comfortable around girls like he did with Kari.

---------------------

Kari made her way to the vending machine to both buy them a grape Ponta. Ryoma followed her and graciously took the Ponta.

"You know, I won, I should've bought you the Ponta instead of you buying Ponta for the both of us."

"Well, than you owe me" answered Kari, then she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Boucho?"

"Kari, call me Kari. I'm not your boucho anymore Ryoma-kun"

"Ehh… Bou—Kari?"

She smiled at him, "Yes?"

"Why are you here in Tokyo? What happened to Bartley?"

"I'm here to be with my family of course!"

"Then, what about Bartley, and tennis?"

"What about?"

Ryoma new Kari too well. She was dancing around the subject, she was avoiding it. I guess she didn't want to talk about tennis.

"How about your knee boucho?"

"My knee?"

"I heard from Touya-boucho that you injured it."

It was then that Kari accidently dropped her Ponta, being the klutz she was. Ryoma had a suspicion that she did it on purpose.

"Ahhhh, my ponta!"

---------------

Meanwhile Tezuka noticed the two together as well. Some people saw Tezuka and Echizen like similar people. They were serious about tennis, they were unreadable, never conveyed their emotions and they were detached from many people. They didn't let many people into their lives. There were not many people that they could be laid-back with, especially if they were female. They both avoided their fanclubs like the plague sometimes, while at the same time being polite. This is the first time Tezuka ever saw Echizen with somebody he could relax with. Out of all his teammates, he had never really found any girl he could be comfortable with, to relax with. In some sort, he was jealous of Echizen and what he saw he had with Kaidoh Kari.

"Aww, Echizen and his boucho reunited" said Fuji.

"Boucho?" questioned Tezuka.

"Yes. Kari was Echizen's boucho in America. Kari is the captain of the tennis team at her school in America, Bartley. Apparently Echizen went to the summer invitationals at Bartley. Bartley is a small, but prestigious boarding school that is founded on academics and tennis."

"You mean she went to a tennis boarding school?" asked Taka-san.

"Yes. Am I right Kaidoh?" asked Inui.

"Fshhhhh"

The whole team got ready to go home. Kari was waiting out the club house for all of them. Tezuka was the first to leave the tennis club. That was when Kari saw Tezuka Kunimitsu up close.

He was so tall. He almost towered over her. She was tall herself, but it felt like she was so small when he stood in front of her. His hair looked like silk in the setting sun. His eyes were piercing, but warm. He didn't smile much, and looked serious most of the time. But Kari respected that. She was awed by the presence he had. She had heard some of the team calling him "boucho". He had a quiet but strong personality. He looked like the person that didn't say much, but if he did, it made an impact. He never showed his emotions to no one. He didn't want to look weak. He was one of those people that everyone admired, from up close or at a distance. Kari wanted to be a captain like him. Kari felt so insignificant next to him. She criticized herself. She was very emotional person, and talked a lot. She was now doubting herself as a captain and it made her feel guilty for being such a weak person. That was then Tezuka interrupted her thoughts.

"Hello, I'm Tezuka Kunimitsu. Captain of the Seigaku tennis team. Nice to meet you."

Kari gave a little bow. "I'm Kaidoh Kari. I'm the Captain of the Bartley tennis team in America. It's nice to meet you too! Thank you for taking care and looking after my brother. He looks up to you a lot."

Tezuka gave her a little nod.

That's when everyone started to file out of the tennis club room. Kari saw Kaoru-chan and waved.

"Well, we should get going home now. It was nice meeting all of you! I hope to see you again!" announced Kari.

"Kari, by any chance, are you going to attend school at Seigaku?" asked Fuji.

"Oh yes! I passed my entrance exam today. I should start school tomorrow."

"Hoi, hoi! That's great! We'll see you tomorrow then!" said Eiji as he jumped for joy.

"See you tomorrow guys, I can't wait!" said Kari as she waved goodbye. "Ne, Kaidoh, say goodbye to your teammates!"

"Fshhhhh."

-------------

"Well, that was a fun afternoon, wasn't Kaoru-chan?" Kari asked as they reached home.

"Fun? More like stressful, annoying and completely tiring," Kaidoh thought to himself.

"I can't wait for tomorrow, I'm sure it'll be even more fun!"

Kaidoh sighed and thought to himself, _"I'm sure it'll be something, but I don't know about fun…."_

**------------**

**Author's Note: **Well there you go. The second installment to "I Turn To You". I want to thank all of those who reviewed, you guys are awesome. I'm glad that you like the story so far. Well, the regulars finally meet Kaidoh Kari, and Kaidoh almost passed out from all the stress.

About the "twin sister" thing. I didn't want her to be older than Kaidoh. It wouldn't be as much fun. I wanted Kaidoh to be the "big brother" for Kari. I wanted him to be protective and such. I wanted Kari to be initially younger, but then she didn't really fit as a person to be a freshman at Seigaku like Ryoma. Plus, she really couldn't be younger since Kaidoh still has his younger brother Hazue. So, then comes the "twin" aspect. Kaidoh and Kari do have a special bond, so I hope it works for you as it works for me.

Well, this chapter took a couple of days, but it was a bit hard to write. It was initially going to be longer, but I thought I'd cut it off for now, and save what I have planned for the next chapter. For all of those who want to know, the next chapter is Kari at Seigaku, actually attending classes.

Reviews, flames, corrections are always welcome. Just give me some feedback!

bluemooneyez


	3. It Feels Like Old Times

**I Turn To You: Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or the yummy regulars.. boo hoo :(

**Author's Notes: **So, here's the third installment of the story. The regulars have just met Kari and now Kari starts school today with them. Chaos and fun is in store for all of them.

Once again, the lyrics before the story is "I Turn To You" by Christina Aguilera.

--------

_And when I'm down you're there_

_Pushing me to the top_

_You're always there giving me all you've got_

_For a shield, from the storm_

_For a friend, for a love to keep me safe and warm_

Kaidoh walked by his sister as they walked to school together. He was clearly annoyed and slightly embarrassed to be around her. "She is completely insane," Kaidoh thought to himself. No one in their right mind would wear _that_.

-flash back-

_Kaidoh walked down to breakfast to see his sister showing her uniform to their mother._

"_You're wearing that!" exclaimed Kaidoh, apparently perturbed by his sister's choice of clothing. "What happened to the school uniform?"_

"_The uniform? They didn't give me one yet, so I thought I'd make my own. Isn't that fun?" answered Kari._

"_NO! What are you thinking? That's not the girls uniform!"_

"_But Kaoru-chan, it looks good on me!"_

_Kari was wearing what looked like the female version of the guys uniform. She had a white tank top and crisp white shirt over it, which looked like it belonged to Kaidoh, only half way buttoned up and the sleeves rolled up so it went just below the elbow, and a short black pleated skirt. To go with it, she's wearing stockings and penny loafers as well. She looked like a catholic school girl._

"_That skirt is too short!"_

_Kari laughed at her brother's obvious overprotected-ness._

"_Ne, Kaoru, I think it looks nice on your sister. Don't worry about it, the school will give Kari her own uniform. For now, let her have her fun," their mother said, trying to reason with Kaidoh._

"_MOM! What is everyone going to think?"_

"_That you have the prettiest sister ever," Kari and their mother said in unison. They laughed at this and smiled at Kaidoh. _

"_Oh come on now, you know she looks pretty, just get going to school now, okay?" their mother instructed._

"_Sweet! Let's go!" Kari exclaimed as she grabbed Kaidoh's arm and started to pull him out the door. Kaidoh barely had time to think and grabbed his things in a hurry almost forgetting his tennis stuff._

-end of flashback-

"Kari!" grunted Kaidoh.

"Hm? Did you say something Kaoru-chan?" asked Kari.

"Promise me, promise me that you'll wear the appropriate uniform tomorrow."

Kari laughed at this, "Ohohohoho, only if I get the uniform tomorrow, you never know, they'll be so inspired by my uniform, that they'll let me use it from now on."

Kaidoh sighed in complete defeat, there was no reasoning with her.

-------

All the regulars were waiting by the entrance gate, talking, and waiting for Kaidoh and Kari. It was as if they all turned around in unison and saw Kaidoh and Kari walking together towards the school. They saw Kaidoh looking down at the ground as he was walking. He looked defeated and completely annoyed. He had his hands in fists and was shaking his head. They all wondered why he looked so annoyed, but then they saw Kari.

"Woah, that's definitely not the girls uniform," they all thought to themselves quietly.

Kari was walking towards the school obviously showing off her uniform. To go with her obvious disdain of the school code, she had her hair down, which looked naturally wavy and soft.

"No wonder Kaidoh looks like that," the regulars all disclosed to themselves.

Everyone was looking at Kaidoh and Kari. Especially Kari. No one besides the tennis team had seen Kari, and now they were looking at her. What intrigued them most was why the scariest guy in the whole school walking to school with her.

Kaidoh was ready to beat anyone up who was looking at Kari too long. The guys were gawking, and as they passed, Kaidoh gave them one of his infamous "snake-like" glares as he hissed at them. Kari paid no attention to them or her silly brother. The girls were whispering, out of jealousy or admiration, one thing she knew, they were wishing that they dressed up as her. Kari made her way towards the regulars along with Kaidoh following her.

"Ohayo!" Kari greeted them warmly as if she did it everyday and this was their daily routine.

"O-hay-ohh," the regulars replied, stuttering a bit, still looking at her, trying not to gawk.

Fuji easily started a conversation, "Ne, Kari, you look wonderful, but that's not the girls uniform, isn't it?"

Kari smiled sweetly, "Nope, I thought I'd wear this instead. I think it looks better on me."

"You said you didn't have the girl's uniform!" exclaimed Kaidoh.

"Details, details, Kaoru-chan. It doesn't matter now, we're at school already," answered Kari.

"Kari," muttered Kaidoh.

"So, Kari, what class are you in? Are you in our class?" asked Momo.

"Hmmm, I don't know yet. The school office didn't tell me. Now I'm really curious," replied Kari.

"You should go check it out, nya!" said Eiji.

"I think I'll do that. Are you all in the same class?" asked Kari.

"Eiji, Inui, Tezuka and I are in the same class," responded Fuji. "Taka and Oishi are in another 3rd year class."

"Ohhh! Ne, Kaoru-chan, is Momo in your class?" asked Kari as she turned around to look her brother in the eyes.

"Fssshhhhh."

"Don't mind dear Kaoru-chan, he's a bit bitter right now. Come on aniki, it's my first day! Could you please be nice?"

"Fshhhhhh."

"Well, I should go to the main office and get my schedule. Kaoru-chan, can you please come with me? I don't know my way around yet."

"Sure Kari, let's go," said Kaidoh and started to pull her away from the school gate, more specifically from everyone's gawking eyes.

"Well, we'll see you later then you two. We should get to class as well," said Fuji.

---------

"What? You got to be kidding me? Are you sure Kari's not a second year like me? We're the same age."

"Aahahahah Kaoru-chan! I'm smarter that you!"

Kaidoh and Kari were in the main office getting Kari's schedule. According to her entrance exam, Kari was placed in the third year class instead of the second year classes.

"Well, according to Kaidoh-san's transcript and entrance exam, she is more than ready to be in the third year classes. Apparently, in Bartley, they prepared you very well and have helped you to exceed the expectations of the second year curriculum," explained the principal.

"In simpler terms dear Kaoru-chan, I'm smarter than you." Kari gave Kaidoh a little smile that said yes-I'm-joking-but-not-really-because-I-am-smarter-but-I-still-love-you.

"Fsshhhhh."

"Well, Kaidoh-san, it seems that you will be the 3rd year class C," explained the principal.

Kari gave the principal a little bow. "Thank you sensei, you've been very helpful. I think my brother can tell me where that is." Kari turned around to see Kaidoh in the middle of sighing out loud to his sister.

"Kaidoh-san?"

"Hmmmm… yes sensei?"

"Your uniform, I expect to see you in the appropriate one tomorrow. Understood?"

"Hai." Kari gave a mischievous smile At least you think it's the appropriate one, just wait til tomorrow to see what I did to the green uniform.

Kaidoh and Kari left the pricipal's office on their way towards the 3rd year hall. Kari felt so happy that she could sit in the 3rd year classes. Maybe she would be in Eiji-senpai or Oishi's classes. She wanted to use this opportunity to find out more about her brother. It had been so long, it felt like she no longer knew him. She wanted to know what he'd been up to since she left. In reality, his teammates knew more than she did. She knew Kaoru's past, but they knew him best since she left, especially Inui-kun. She wanted to know that Kaoru-chan.

"I'm so excited Kaoru-chan! Do you think any of your teammates will be in my class."

"Fssssshhhh. Most likely Kari."

"Ne, Kaoru, why do you hiss like that?" Kari always meant to ask. It's been bugging her. She wanted to know why he hissed like that. Everyone around him felt so natural about it, it didn't bother them at all.

"What do you mean?"

"That 'fssshhhh'. What is that?"

Kaidoh couldn't help but smile a little when his sister tried to hiss like him. "I don't know Kari, I just do it. It comes natural to me now. Ever since I perfected the 'Snake' and 'Boomerang Snake' it just seems appropriate."

"Snake! That sounds so cool Kaoru-chan! I want to see it… wait! Is that why Momo-chan calls you 'Mamushi'"

"Fssshhhh. He's just an idiot and never call me 'Mamushi' again."

Kari giggled, it felt so good to be back at home and with her brother. Her brother was so silly, getting overworked by a little nickname. He always had the ability to make her smile. She felt so much happier now.

"Well, here's the 3rd year, class C. If anyone gives you trouble, tell me. Okay?"

"Jeez Kaoru-chan. You make it sound like I'm a kindergartener on their first day of school. I'll be fine and I'm sure none of the other kids won't bite. If they do, I'll just stuff paste down their throats." Kari stuck her tongue out at her brother, and Kaidoh just sweatdropped.

"Bye Kari, come find me at lunch." Kari watched her brother walk away.

"Ok! Thanks!" Kari yelled down at the hall. She felt so excited, she was always up to new challenges.

Kari walked in, when she did, she noticed it wasn't a normal room with desks and a chalkboard. The room was a chemistry room filled with lab benches, flasks, sinks and little jars of solutions. When Kari walked into the door, it felt like everyone stopped what they were doing and started to stare, laugh, gossip and whisper. Kari didn't feel the slightest bit worried, she didn't pay attention to gossipers and such. If you made them know it bothered you, they would just do it more. Kari hated people who were in other people's businesses.

"Kari-chan!" Kari heared a high cheerful voice. _"Yay! Eiji-kun's in my class!"_ Kari saw Eiji jumping up and down amidst the crowd of unfamiliar people trying to get her attention. When Kari first walked in, she didn't realize that in the far right corner stood four familiar people. Tezuka, Fuji, Inui and Eiji all saw her enter. Quite honestly, they were all puzzled, the second year hall was in the opposite end of the building.

"Okay class, now, now, settle down. We have a new student joining us, Kaidoh Kari. She's originally from America and was supposed to be in the 2nd year class, but since she's so bright, the principal decided to challenge her with the 3rd year curriculum. Now Kari, why don't you tell us something about yourself," asked the teacher.

Kari sweatdropped. Why did teachers always have to tell their students more than they needed to know. "Well, I'm 13 and I like chemistry and history. I went to school in America for a short time, and decided to finish my education here in Seigaku."

"Do you play any sports Kari?" asked the teacher. Obviously, he must have heard about Kaoru-chan and the tennis team. It was a complexing question that made her throat dry and mind reel. She did play tennis, but that's not all she does. She wanted her life in Tokyo to be more than tennis. All Kari's response was to give a little nod and walk towards the empty lab bench."

"Well, thank you Kari. Now, alright class, why don't you sort yourself into pairs and sit at a lab bench so we can begin class and start chemistry today."

While Kari was finding herself a lab bench and making herself comfortable on a stool, a tall dark haired guy seemed to be looking at her quite intently. Kari was taking out her notebook, when some guy slid in the seat right next to her. Kari felt his presence and turned around to face him to be polite.

"Ohayo" Kari said politely.

"Hello beautiful," the mysterious guy replied. Apparently, he was pretty full of himself, arrogant and believed he was the coolest guy to ever live. These kind of guys irritated Kari.

"Hi." Kari smiled sweetly and then turned around and tried to look for a pen.

"Well, well, well. Kaidoh Kari was it? I'm Seiji Haru."

"Nice to meet you." Kari didn't even look up, she was still pretending to find a pen in her bag.

"You know Kari-san." Kari winced at this. She didn't even give him permission to call her by her first name. "You're pretty lucky, most girls would die to have me as their chemistry partner." Seiji's hands started to brush her leg, on purpose.

"How is that lucky may I ask?"

"I'm the most popular boy ever, and since you're the prettiest girl here, you can be my partner."

"Wow, thank you for gracing me with your presence. I'm almost, sorta, not repulsed by you. But, you know what?"

"Hm?"

"If you don't get your greasy hands off my thigh Seiji-san, I'll have to pour hydrochloric acid on it and watch it burn a hole through your hand or I'll have my brother Kaidoh Kaoru rip them off for you. Your choice." Kari then gave him the most innocent smile ever.

"Your brother is Kaidoh Kaoru, the 2nd year?"

"Uhh, duh. So, if you'll excuse me, I think I just found my new chemistry partner." Kari slid of the stool and started to walk across the room towards Inui-kun leaving Seiji-san pretty confused.

"Inui-kun?" asked Kari sweetly.

"Hmmm…Ahh, Kari-san. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Actually, yes. You can be my chemistry partner." With that said, Kari sat down on the stool next to him and opened her notebook waiting for the lecture to begin.

"Uhh-uhh-uhh Kari san?"

"Hmmm Inui-kun?"

"You'll be my chemistry partner?" Inui was seriously confused and dumbfounded. This was the first time this has ever happened. He never expected this to happen. None of his data had ever reflected something like this would happen. He was always content with being his own chemistry partner. He could handle the work himself, plus it gave him an opportunity to try to create some new Inui juices that he otherwise wouldn't have time for. But Kari asking, no not asking, stating that she be his partner was a bit perplexing. He didn't think he was ever this close to a girl, not just a girl, but a really pretty girl. He felt totally compelled to take out his notebook and jot down some figures, and he did.

Kari started to watch Inui pull out his little green notebook and wildly jotting down numbers and little notes. This made her smile. _"He's so cute, writing in his little journal, I wonder what he's writing."_ Kari began to look around the room. Eiji was at the table to her right and Tezuka and Fuji was right behind Eiji's lab bench. Eiji gave her a big wave, Fuji had his serene smile on his face and Tezuka gave no sign of emotion whatsoever. Seiji-san was on the other side of the room chatting up some girl, but still looked her direction every so often to check if she was checking him out. _"As if!"_ Kari thought to herself.

Class finally started and Kari was glad that her first class was chemistry. It was one of her favorite classes and she felt comfortable. She also found that Inui-kun was one of the smartest people that she ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was smart, kind, funny, sweet and handsome. She found his eyeglasses alluring and mysterious. _"I wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend, and why no one was his chemistry partner before."_ Kari couldn't help but smile at him. He was perfect, but for whom?

Inui-kun found Kari a very intelligent person, especially when it came to chemistry or science in general. _"No wonder she's in the 3rd year classes, she really is smart."_ He found himself very comfortable around her, and he made her smile. She was determined and strong willed, like her brother. _"Like her brother, Kaidoh…"_

"Inui-kun?"

Inui was lost in thoughts and didn't hear Kari's question. "Hm?"

"Did you balance the equation yet? I just wanted to know if I did this redox reaction right. These electrons can be annoying." Kari gave a small laugh. She was so different from her brother but the similar at the same time. They are twins after all. Kaidoh had a warm smile, like Kari. Kaidoh on the other hand doesn't share it as freely as Kari does, but Inui knew it exists. Kari has a big heart and cares about people, Kaidoh has a soft side for people and does care even if it doesn't look it.

"Uh, yeah. There are five sulfates, five sulfites, three waters, and five protons."

"Hm.. okay…" Kari was looking down at her notebook, making corrections and erasing some wrong numbers.

------

"Well that was fun! I'm glad that it's lunch time!" Kari said, stretching out her arms.

"Fun! Chemistry! You got to be kidding Kari!" exclaimed Eiji. "Chemistry was excruciating, I will never be able to balance equations!"

"Awww, Eiji, if you ever need help, I could always give you a hand," said Kari.

"Really?" exclaimed Eiji.

"Yeah, here's one right now," Kari started to clap for Eiji and cheering, "Gooo Eiji! You can do it!"

Eiji, Fuji and Kari started to laugh. Tezuka and Inui followed closely behind them.

"So, Kari, what do you think of the classes so far?"

"Well, Inui is a great partner, so I'm having no trouble in class so far. It's just some creep was bothering me earlier, some people can be so clueless."

"A CREEP!" Eiji yelled.

"Ahahahah, don't worry about it Eiji-kun, everything's settled. I don't think he'll be bothering anymore."

"Ohh, what did you do?" Fuji asked curiously.

"I threatened him with either acid to burn through his hands or Kaoru-chan to beat him up."

"Ohohoho! Good one Kari! Now let's find the others, I'm hungry," said Eiji.

They all headed towards the outdoors lunch area. They all brought their own bento or either bought something inside the cafeteria. They all spotted the rest of the regulars at a table underneath a table. Taka-san was talking with Echizen, and Oishi was trying to settle an argument between Momo and Kaidoh.

"Kaoru-chan!" yelled Kari.

Kaidoh turned away from the argument to see Kari walking towards him.

"Oh, Kari. How was your classes so far?"

"Good. Inui-kun is my partner in chemistry class."

"Sempai?" Kari could see Kaidoh blush a little bit.

"Hai. Inui-kun. He's so smart, I'm glad I asked him to be my partner. You're lucky to have such a nice teammate on your team Kaoru-chan."

"Uhh, yeah."

Kaoru-chan's response intrigued Kari. Was it just her or did he blush when she mentioned Inui-kun. Or maybe she was just imagining it all. After trying to read too much into her brother's actions, she tried to make conversation, but caught him looking at Inui-kun. _"Interesting, very interesting."_ Her brother was a very passionate person. He was passionate about tennis, his family, and passionate about keeping to himself. There was only one person who could read into Kaidoh's mind, and that was Kari. Kari smiled inwardly to herself, completely happy with her little discovery. If only if she could figure out Inui-kun's feelings and maybe test out her little theory about Kaoru-chan's little crush. _"Kawaii!"_

"Let's eat lunch Kaoru-chan, I'm starving. Do you have the bento that mom made this morning?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, great! Let's eat underneath the tree, so we can have some shade."

"Uh, yeah Kari."

Kari lead the way under the tree. Kari leaned against the tree and waited for Kaidoh to sit against the great tree's trunk. Kari moved down the trunk and sat down next to Kaidoh. She then laid her head on his lap and laid down on the soft grass. _"It has been so long since we ate lunch together like this."_ Kaidoh blushed a bit. It's been a long time since Kari laid her head on his lap. They used to sit under a tree like this and eat together when they were younger. Especially, after a nice game of tennis. After a long game, they would find a nice tree to eat underneath. Kaidoh would always sit first and Kari would lay her head down on his lap. Kaidoh would always pass the food to her and they would talk about everything and anything for hours. Kari's hair was much longer, wavier and lighter than it used to be. _"She has grown up so much, it's been two years. I'm glad she came back, life felt empty since she's been gone, but now, it feels complete."_

Everyone was watching the little scene of the brother and sister. Kari was talking animatedly about her day to Kaidoh. Kaidoh was listening and passing her some grapes as she talked. They looked so comfortable together, it was very rare to see Kaidoh so calm, serene, collected and smiling. He looked at peace when he sat with his sister for lunch.

The day seemed to pass very quickly and pleasantly. In history class, Kari sat next to Tezuka. In English, she partnered up with Fuji and she promised to sit next to Eiji during math so she can help him through the problems. Before she knew it, school was over and she was walking over to the tennis courts with Tezuka. Eiji and Fuji had to stay behind a bit to clean up the classroom. Kari offered to help, but they refused. They insisted that she walk over to the tennis courts with Tezuka.

Tezuka and Kari didn't talk much on their ways to the tennis court. Kari didn't know what to say. He just didn't seem the chatting type. She was usually good with small talk, but with Tezuka Kunimitsu, now matter how polite he was, you just felt like an idiot whenever you brought some trivial tidbit up.

"How long have you been playing?"

Tezuka's question stunned Kari. Was he actually starting the conversation?

"Let's see, I've been playing for four years. I started when Kaoru-chan started to play tennis as well."

"Did you like Bartley?" Kari really hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was going.

"Yes, I liked it very much." Kari said hesitantly, she didn't mean to , but it just came out that way.

"You sound hesitant."

"No, no. Don't get me wrong." There was an awkward silence and Kari didn't know what to say. "Ahh! Tezuka-kun! You meanie! I wasn't hesitant, your questions just got me off guard." Then, out of the blue, Kari gave Tezuka a little playful punch in the arm

Tezuka just looked bewildered, and Kari looked completely embarrassed. There was another awkward moment when they were just looking at each other, unsure what to say to each other. Thankfully, Kaidoh saw her and took her out of her misery of the awkward silence.

"Kari! Over here!" yelled Kaidoh.

Kari gave a little bow to Tezuka and walked off towards Kaidoh, leaving Tezuka to his thoughts. _"Well, that was awkward…"_ Fuji suddenly appeared by Tezuka's side. Tezuka didn't even notice Fuji until the smaller one said something.

"Well, she's interesting, isn't she Tezuka."

"Hm."

"She's cute, ne?"

"Fuji."

"Don't you think so? Everyone else does, even I think she's beautiful."

"Fuji."

"Really, that little moment you had a little earlier, you two looked so cute in an awkward way, are you sure---"

"Fuji, 10 laps now."

Fuji gave a little laugh. "Okay, okay, I'm going."

Fuji started a light sprint around the tennis courts. No one could see it, but Fuji's beautiful sapphire eyes were shining. _"Interesting. It seems that I have a little rival for the love of Tezuka."_

Practice started and Fuji had finished his ten laps around the tennis courts. No one dared to question Tezuka for the fear of even more laps, or worse, Inui juice. While practice was commencing and the regulars were having practice matches, Kari was watching Kaoru-chan's practice match very carefully. Kaoru-chan was having a practice match with Eiji-kun. Kari watched carefully, taking mental notes on Kaoru-chan's form his shots. Kari was most interested in the 'Snake' and 'Boomerang Snake'. Kari walked around the court, watching Kaoru-chan's match at different angles.

Kaidoh saw what his sister was doing. _"What a girl. She's still a tennis player no matter what she says."_ To satisfy her sister's curiosity he got in position to hit the 'Snake'. Kari was watching intently at the baseline of Eiji's side of the court. Kari watched her brother hit the 'Snake'. It was surely amazing. It was a refined version of the 'Buggy Whip Shot'. _"Wow, he can certainly drive the ball at a great angle."._ Kari then moved towards the middle of the court, waiting for another 'Snake'. Once again, her brother didn't fail to comply to her interest. Kaidoh was used to how Kari gathered her information. She was great at analyzing a visual representation of her opponent. She liked to see at different angles and different views when her opponents played. In a way, she was a female version of Inui-sempai without the little notebook. This little fact was a bit unnerving for Kaidoh.

Kari gave Kaidoh a little smile and continued to walk around the court to see Kaidoh's tennis game at different angles. She liked to see how he hit the 'Snake' in different views. She analyzed how he held his racket, and tried to determine how quickly he moved his racket, and how much he moved his wrist in order to hit the 'Snake'. This was her way of analyzing and reading her opponent.

The other regulars were watching Kari analyzing and observing the game between Eiji and Kaidoh. She certainly learned a lot by just watching. Kaidoh thought that Kari would want to see his perfect 'Boomerang Snake' and so he positioned himself for it. Kari watched him and his movements. _"His stance is much different than when he hits the 'Snake'… now, what is dear Kaoru-chan up to?"_

Kaidoh finally hit the Boomerang Snake, the around the pole shot. This certainly intrigued Kari. She had never seen anything like it before. She was thoroughly impressed. "Great job Kaidoh! That was so cool!" she exclaimed outloud.

The game finally ended, Kaidoh winning 6-4. Eiji and Kaidoh shook hands.

"Great job Kaidoh! Man, you're getting better and better," Eiji complimented.

"Sempai. Your acrobatic skills are still superb."

"Ahh, thanks Kaidoh." Eiji patted Kaidoh on the back and went to watch the practice match between Taka-san and Oishii.

"That was a great match Kaoru-chan!" Kari suddenly appeared by his side and complimented him.

"Ahh, thanks Kari."

Kari could see in the corner of her eye, a certain someone looking at Kaidoh. Actually he's been sneaking glances towards him during the whole match. _"Inui-kun, really, just come over and congratulate him. I guess I have to push him."_

"Inui-kun!" Kari yelled over to him. Inui walked over to the siblings. "Didn't Kaoru-chan do great? That Boomerang Snake was really impressive."

"Yes. It's improved 37 percent since I given him his training manual," explained Inui.

"Training manual?" asked Kari curiously.

"Fssshhh."

"I've given Kaidoh a training manual so he can perfect his Boomerang Snake, it looks like it's working. Although, Kaidoh, you should use your arm a bit more and lower your racket .38 cm to produce a better angle."

"Fsssshhh."

Kari silently left the two trying to give the two their own alone time.

"Boucho!" Kari instantly turned to Ryoma's call.

"Hmmmm, you answered to 'boucho'."

"Ohohoho, Ryoma-kun, you're so sneaky. Were you calling for me, or Tezuka?"

"You boucho."

"Hmm… you know you should call me Kari, ne? Tezuka is your boucho now, not me."

"You'll always be 'boucho' to me."

"You're stubborn, you know that Ryoma?"

"Why don't you play a match against me?"

"Ahaha, no."

"Mada mada dane."

"I don't have a racket."

"That doesn't matter."

"What? You want me to play with my bare hands Ryoma?"

"No boucho, use another person's racket."

"You know I don't play without my own racket."

"You know for a boucho, you're giving me a lot of meaningless excuses not to play tennis. Where's the Kari-boucho that I knew and annoyed?"

"Ryoma. I don't want to play this game or any game with you."

Then, out of the blue, Kaidoh spoke up, "Then play me Kari."

"Kaoru-chan…" Kari said surprised.

"Play me then Kari, I know you can't resist a challenge against your own brother."

"I don't have my racket."

"Here." Kaidoh tossed over a black racket with pink grip tape at Kari.

"Kaoru-chan! Where did my racket came from?"

"I brought it with me, for this occasion."

"You were planning this?"

"Fssshhh. Not really, just get on the court, okay?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to play like we used to do."

"Huh?"

"You do remember what tennis was like back then, don't you? Or has Bartley totally changed you?"

"No, of course not. Of course I'll play you."

'_Or has Bartley totally changed you?'_ Those words kept ringing in Kari's ears. The more she heard it over and over again in her head, the more it seemed like the truth. _"It's true. Bartley has changed me. But that's why I'm here, to remember what tennis really is, back when everything was simple and we were young."_

Kari took her place at the baseline. Kari was an all-rounder, but she was a real aggressive baseliner.

"WHAAA? A girl going against Kaidoh-sempai?" yelled Horio-kun, a freshman. He yelled it so loud that everyone could hear.

"Ehh? A match between that girl and Kaidoh-sempai?" whispered many tennis members.

"Hmmm… mada mada dane," was Ryoma's only response.

"This should be interesting, ne Tezuka?" Fuji asked quietly.

"You can serve first Kaoru-chan, don't hold back, okay?" Kari yelled across the court.

"Fssshhhh." Kaidoh served pretty heavy and fast towards Kari. Kari stepped forward and easily returned it with a backhand.

"She returned it with her backhand?" asked Eiji, already entranced with the match.

"This would be very good data," and with that, Inui whipped out his notebook.

Kari and Kaidoh were having a good rally. Neither of them wanted to give up the first point. They rallied back and forth, until Kaidoh finished it with his Snake.

"Wow, it's much greater up close." Kari said outloud.

"Fsssshhhh." Kaidoh served again, and Kari returned it with her forehand.

"Kaoru-chan, you have a really good serve, it's improved a lot since last time."

"We were only eleven then Kari."

"I know, but still, it's an improvement."

Kaidoh positioned himself for another 'Snake' but Kari was ready this time. As Kaidoh hit the 'Snake', Kari moved forward to the left and positioned her racket low. Before the ball could bounce at a great angle, Kari hit it at Kaidoh's backhand forcing him to lob the ball high, then Kari took her chance, she jumped up ready to smash, leaned back and put all her strength in hitting the ball forward. The ball flew past Kaidoh and when it finally hit the court, it had little bounce, if nothing, none at all.

"Hm… 'Lunar Eclipse," Ryoma said.

"Lunar Eclipse? Is that what you said Ochibi?" asked Eiji.

"Hai. That's Kari's Lunar Eclipse. It's a hit that forces the opponent to hit a chance ball by aiming for their weaker side when they're not expecting it, in this case she hit a strong backhand towards Kaidoh when he was positioned for the right hand Snake, and then her smash, 'Lunar Eclipse' is a high smash where she leans her body back so she can use her whole body to hit the ball. The smash is a strong and fast smash aimed for the opponent's feet, so it' s harder to return. It's called Lunar Eclipse since she jumps so high, it looks like she's blocking the sun.

"Wow, the 'Lunar Eclipse', no wonder she's the boucho for the Bartley school of tennis" repeated Fuji.

"_It finally feels like old times, playing like this, one on one. Neither one of us want to give up point after point. Kari has improved so much, that smash was unbelievable, I didn't expect someone so small can have such a powerful smash. Kari was always playful and liked to challenge herself with the most impossible moves, I shouldn't be that surprised, but I am."_ Kaidoh thoughtfully thought to himself, admiring his sister.

"15-15" Oishi yelled out from the referee's seat.

The game kept going back and forth, rally after rally, volley after volley. Both siblings fought for point after point.

"7 games to 6, game and match. Kaidoh Kari wins."

After the match, Kaidoh approached Kari handing over his water bottled to her. "You never really play me seriously, do you Kari?" asked Kaidoh.

"Hm? Now, what's the fun in that?" Kari replied while sipping up some water.

"Kari." Kaidoh sweatdropped at his sister's obvious lack of seriousness.

"Next time Kaoru-chan, pinky swear."

"Fssshhh." Yeah, it was certainly like old times.

------------

**Author's Note: **OMG! I am so sorry that this chapter is two weeks late! I really didn't mean for it to be this way. I was busy with school, distracted with other work, studying for tests and worst of all, I had some extreme writer's block. It took some sugar and rewatching of some special PoT episodes to get the wheels in my brain to start turning. I hope this chapter was okay. I made it especially long for those who have been waiting for so long.

Anyways, I really suck at the tennis game sequence, I'll try harder next time. The Lunar Eclipse is okay I guess. Some of you might think it's lame, I had no idea what to do with it. At first it was going to be like Oishi's Moon Volley, but then I was thinking of Sengoku's Kouho. Well, it turned out to be a smash. If you have any ideas for another tennis move and would like to share, let me know!

Any comments, edits, reviews are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading ITTY!


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